Dexys Midnight Runners will release their new album ‘Love’ later this year.
Due September 4 via Heavenly Recordings, the LP is produced by David Holmes and marks the band’s first LP under the name Dexys Midnight Runners since 1985’s ‘Don’t Stand Me Down’.
According to a press release, the LP touches upon frontman Kevin Rowland‘s life “from his 2nd generation Irish childhood and family relationships to late-life romance, loss and reconciliation”.
On the lead single ‘My Life In England Pt. 1’, a reworking of the group’s original version for their 2003 ‘Let’s Make This Precious’ compilation, he elaborates: “It’s all memories of my own experiences. Pete, that’s my brother. In my book [‘Bless Me Father’], I changed his name to Pat. There’s quite a lot of overlap with the book in this one.
“We were in England dreaming of America: it was pre-Beatles, so it was Elvis, it was Sonny Liston, Cassius Clay, clothes, all of it was America.
“In the second verse, I’m remembering being in a social club listening to everyone singing Kevin Barry,” he continues, alluding to the Wolfe Tones song about the 18-year-old IRA soldier executed by the British government on November 1, 1920.
He recalls “my mum telling me ‘This song’s not allowed in England’. It was daytime, and all the curtains were drawn, everyone drinking, singing an illegal song. I remember thinking, Wow, yes, exciting! My childhood memories, I just wrote them down.
“You can’t really write on behalf of anybody else,” Rowland adds. “Though I realised later that when I was growing up in north-west London, loads of the kids around there were second generation Irish. All obsessed with being up the front with the best clothes, with dancing to the new records.”
‘Love’ is released on September 4 and available to pre-order from Amazon, HMV, Rough Trade, Townsend and more. Listen to ‘My Life In England Pt. 1’ below.
Tracklist: Dexys Midnight Runners – ‘Love’
1. My Life In England Pt. 1
2. You’ve Got The Love
3. Once A Man, Twice a Child
4. You’re Alright
5. I Want To Be Holding You Next Christmas
6. I’ll Always Love You
7. Strange Feelin’
8. It’s Over Now
9. Old Love
10. My Life In England Pt. 2
Alongside news of the new record, the Dexys Midnight Runners have confirmed an extra London date has been added to their upcoming 2026 UK and Ireland tour due to demand.
They’ll also embark on an intimate in-store tour, featuring stripped-back live sets and album signings.
Tickets are on sale now and are available here. The full list of dates is below.
SEPTEMBER
04 – Assai, Glasgow, UK (signing only)
05 – Jumbo, Leeds, UK (signing only)
06 – HMV, Birmingham, UK (signing only)
07 – Rough Trade, Nottingham, UK (stripped back live performance)
08 – Rough Trade, Bristol, UK (stripped back live performance)
09 – Resident, Brighton, UK (stripped back live performance)
10 – Rough Trade East, London, UK (stripped back live performance + Q&A with David Holmes)
OCTOBER
04 – Göta Lejon, Stockholm, SE
06 – Pustervik, Gothenburg, SE
07 – Slagthuset Teater, Malmö, SE
10 – Passionskirche, Berlin, DE
11 – Élysée Montmartre, Paris, FR
20 – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, UK
21 – City Hall, Newcastle, UK
23 – The Halls, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK
25 – Opera House, Manchester, UK
27 – Hackney Empire, London, UK (new date added)
28 – Hackney Empire, London, UK
30 – Corn Exchange, Cambridge, UK
NOVEMBER
01 – Dome, Brighton, UK
04 – Olympia, Dublin, IE
05 – Ulster Hall, Belfast, UK
06 – Black Box Theatre, Galway, IE
08 – Beacon, Bristol, UK
